The present invention pertains to cleaners and cleaning articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disinfecting and sanitizing article for use on skin and hands, as well as on hard surfaces.
Disinfectant and sanitizing compositions are generally formulated to kill specific and targeted pathogens. These compositions can contain a variety of germ-killing chemicals individually and in combination, with the specific intent of eradicating the targeted pathogen. These compositions can include phenols, quaternary ammonium chlorides, glutaraldehydes, iodines and alcohols. If cleaning properties are also desired the compositions can include surfactants (generally non-ionic surfactants) and water to dilute the germ-killing chemicals to a safe user level. Other additives may also be used, such as perfumes, dyes, wetting agents, phosphates, silicates and solvents, to accomplish specific results. These products are offered in ready-to-use concentrations as well as highly dilutable concentrations of up to one part of disinfectant and sanitizer to 256 parts of water.
In order to be registered for sale to the public, as required by the EPA, these products must be shown to completely kill specific pathogens. This kill ability (also known as log reduction) is based on accepted laboratory tests under controlled environmental conditions. The kill rate of each pathogen is measured in contact time, which can vary from a few seconds to 20 minutes or longer. Under laboratory testing conditions the pathogens are not contained in hard to remove biofilms such as are formed by dried blood, food grease, saliva and body fluids, which are typically found in actual use conditions in hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and many other sources of contamination. Biofilms are organic films or conglomerates under which pathogens can be located.
Cleaning compositions (which are different from disinfectant and sanitizing compositions) are also commercially important products that enjoy a wide utility in removing dirt and grime from surfaces, especially those characterized as “hard surfaces”. Hard surfaces are those which are frequently encountered in lavatories and kitchens (food preparation facilities) and include, for example, lavatory fixtures such as toilets, shower stalls, bathtubs, bidets and sinks, as well as countertops, cabinet and appliance surfaces, walls and floors in, for example, grocery stores and offices.
There are many instances, in a variety of settings in which it may be desirable for a person to have clean hands. For example, in food handling or preparation, such as in grocery stores and restaurants, anyone handling food should (and in many cases may be required to) ensure that his or her hands are well cleaned before handling food. In a variety of medical and laboratory situations, it is necessary for personnel to clean their hands regularly, to prevent the transmission of disease and infection. Even in office settings, it may be desirable (if not necessary) for personnel to clean their hands regularly.
Although many facilities may be provided for cleaning or washing the hands, these may not be completely effective. At times, this requires that one seek out a washroom or the like, in order to wash or clean their hands. If washrooms are not readily available (even if water alone is not available) or are not properly maintained this can pose a problem vis-à-vis maintaining a requisite level of cleanliness.
Disinfecting and sanitizing cleaners are useful for preventing the spread of harmful bacteria. These cleaners are usually sprayed onto a surface and then wiped with a towel. Many known products must be sprayed several times to ensure that the disinfectant and/or sanitizer contacts the harmful bacteria or pathogens on the treated surface for a sufficient minimum contact time. However, many of these cleaners are toxic and as such must be rinsed from the treated surface prior to use.
These cleaners typically contain large amounts of alcohol or other solvents. Unfortunately, these solvents often result in rapid evaporation from the treated surface. As such, the necessary minimum contact time to ensure complete kill of the pathogens, or to fully penetrate the biofilm deposited on the surface being disinfected and sanitized may not be achieved. This latter problem can be especially insidious in that germs breed underneath the biofilm and in the biofilm, as well as on the surface of the biofilm. Thus, a cleaner that only works on the surface of a film is not able to thoroughly disinfect and sanitize. As such, when bacteria remain on the treated surface, they can produce an odor. In addition, such cleaners are ineffective even on biofilm surfaces because germs are not exposed to these cleaners for the required minimum contact time to assure complete pathogen kill. Moreover, many such “cleaners” do not in fact remove dead (or live) bacteria and organisms from an individual's hands.
Moreover, present methods of disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces typically require a number of steps to be effective. In fact, for currently available disinfectants and sanitizers to be effective, the surface must first be precleaned. For example, simply spraying a surface with a cleaner and then wiping does not fully disinfect and sanitize. Therefore, a disinfecting and sanitizing process may require first cleaning a surface, next spraying a liquid composition onto the surface and rubbing the sprayed liquid with a towel, then rinsing the cleaner off the surface, and finally drying the surface with still another towel. In addition, for the process to be truly effective, the surface must be kept wet by the cleaner, such as by re-spraying, to ensure that the disinfectant and sanitizer contact the bacteria for the requisite minimum time to achieve complete pathogen kill.
Still another drawback to known methods of disinfecting and sanitizing is that spray-type systems currently use low viscosity liquid cleaners that can run from the surface area to be treated. This can contaminate other surfaces that are not to be exposed to the cleaner and can further reduce the contact time on the surface that it is desired to clean. In addition, for current systems to actually penetrate a biofilm layer, an abrasive material must be used that can scratch the surface being disinfected and sanitized.
Still another disadvantage of known disinfecting and sanitizing systems is that many of these systems have limited disinfecting and sanitizing properties. For instance, the systems may kill only certain subclasses of bacteria. In other words, the systems may not have fungicidal, pseudomonacidal, tuberculocidal, bactericidal, and virucidal properties all combined in one system.
Thus, these conventional disinfectant and sanitizer solutions have not proven to be effective in actual use conditions (as compared to laboratory environments). They have been found to be ineffective due to: failure to completely remove the biofilm that contains the pathogens; insufficient contact time with the pathogen to complete a 100% kill; and the use of unsatisfactory cleaning towels that are necessary in current usage of disinfectant and sanitizer products. With respect to the towels, because the towels may not be saturated with disinfectant and sanitizer solutions to kill the pathogens which they absorb, they can actually spread infectious pathogens to other surfaces during the cleaning process by initially retaining absorbed pathogens into the towel and then releasing them onto other surfaces which are wiped.
Accordingly, there is a need for an article that effectively disinfects, sanitizes and deodorizes organic debris by breaking a biofilm surface and disinfecting and sanitizing underneath the film without the use of abrasive materials. Desirably, such an article provides one-step disinfecting and sanitizing in a safe, portable, convenient and easy to use product. More desirably, such a product has multiple disinfecting and sanitizing properties. There is also a need for a system of cleaning pathogens that achieves increased contact time with the pathogens and to provide a near complete (near 100 percent) kill. Most desirably, such a disinfecting and sanitizing article disinfects and sanitizes a surface and absorbs the pathogens without spreading unwanted pathogens to other surfaces.